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Description
This project aims to increase civic and social participation among young people and to engage the youth in local climate change policies in the municipalities of the Poznan Agglomeration. In May 2021, we conducted a survey with 225 school students in the Wielkopolska region. The results showed that climate change is an extremely important topic for the young generation. As many as 94.2% of those surveyed said that taking pro-environmental action is important or very important to them. However, only 37.8 % had so far been involved in such activities at school, and only 29.3 % outside of school, in their municipality. Therefore, the research reveals a great need to engage young people in social and civic activities. The project will carry out comprehensive educational activities addressed to a minimum of 500 people, including school students, teachers and representatives of local government institutions, youth councils, and neighbourhood and commune councils. We will conduct more than 100 trainings, workshops and webinars, as well as two conferences dedicated to social, civic and environmental issues. In 25 schools, School Clubs of Young Citizens will be established, in which students will carry out various civic and social initiatives, including participatory school budgeting and debates. The project will be implemented in 22 municipalities belonging to the Poznan Agglomeration. Our aim is to bring about real change in local communities by increasing young people’s empowerment and developing their knowledge and skills in civic participation and climate change. We are implementing the project in partnership of four organisations: the CREO Association, the Metropolia Poznan Association, the Ecologists Without Borders Association (from Slovenia) and Norsensus Mediaforum (from Norway).
Summary of project results
The main objective of the project was to increase civic and social participation of young people and to increase the involvement of young people in local policies concerning climate change in local governments of the Poznań Metropolis by creating 25 School Clubs of Young Citizens and comprehensive educational activities. The project was ultimately addressed to 516 students, 25 teachers and a total of 106 local government employees and representatives of youth/neighborhood/village councils. As part of the project, 108 trainings/workshops/webinars and 2 conferences on social, civic and ecological topics were carried out. We also carried out 100 volunteer youth initiatives (actions for the local community on ecological topics, school pro-ecological campaigns, school eco-Oxford Debates and School eco-Civic Budgets). The huge success of the project was the involvement of 6345 students from 25 schools in the voting process in school civic budgets! The project was implemented in 22 municipalities of the Poznań Metropolis to induce real change in local communities (increased subjectivity, knowledge and skills in the field of participation and climate change) in towns of different status and size. We used innovative solutions on a national scale: School Eco-Budget Citizens, MAP CLIMATE tool, online citizen survey tool for youth/neighborhood/village councils/local government officials, active exchange of experiences on the Norway-Slovenia-Poland line. In total, it was planned to involve at least 2625 people in the project, which was achieved with a large surplus, as the final number of people who took part in the project was 6476 people. The following took part in the partnership project: CREO Association, Poznań Metropolis Association, Ecologists Without Borders Association (EBM Slovenia), Norsensus Mediaforum (Norway).
The implementation of the project resulted in a wide range of short- and long-term results. As a result of the implementation of the project, 647 people (516 students, 25 teachers, 106 local government officials and council representatives) acquired knowledge and skills in the field of civic participation, volunteering and climate change. 516 students and 25 teachers took part in a series of workshops (102 in total) and as many as 100 initiatives were implemented (campaigns, volunteering actions, organization of eco-SBO or debates). For all of the above people, the project brought a lot of additional theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience in the context of planning and organizing various social and civic initiatives. Schools not only received inspiration and tools for action, but were also led by trainers and animators through various forms of pro-social involvement. Importantly, CREO trainers do not conduct activities in schools personally, but teach children, youth and teaching staff to implement them independently, so that the project allows for the continuation of activities also after its completion. Importantly, the organization of the school participatory budget allowed the involvement of entire school communities of 25 educational institutions - in total, there were as many as 6,345 students who took part in the votes in the SBO. This is a very important result in the context of shaping civic attitudes. For most students, these were the first experiences in their lives related to voting, but also the possibility of submitting their ideas. The winning ideas purchased and implemented as part of the project are tangible proof of the agency and decision-making of young people, at the same time their connection with ecology, care for the environment and spending time outdoors will constantly influence the ecological awareness of the school community, which will use the purchased items. The durability of the project results will also be ensured thanks to the info-promo department and through the creation of publications.
The main objective of the project was to increase civic and social participation of young people and to increase their level of knowledge about climate and involvement in public affairs in 22 municipalities in Wielkopolska by creating School Clubs of Young Citizens, comprehensive educational activities for students, teachers and local government employees. The youth took part in a series of workshops (100 in total) and then organized social and civic actions (100 in total). Active activities in the project were undertaken by as many as 516 students who participated in workshops and actions, thus having the opportunity to gain both theoretical and practical knowledge in social, civic and ecological issues. The participation of as many as 6345 students in voting in the SBO was also very important in the context of shaping correct civic patterns. The LOCAL CLIMATE MAPPING REPORTS created as part of the project were forwarded to city and municipal offices and auxiliary bodies (councils) as a contribution to the creation of local environmental protection policy. This material will also help in the future to update and monitor climate change adaptation plans. In turn, LOCAL CITIZEN ACTIVITY REPORTS will help in the future to implement volunteering campaigns that are better tailored to the needs and capabilities of young people and to local conditions, and will also enable local governments and auxiliary bodies to more effectively engage young people in activities initiated by city and commune offices and village councils and housing estate councils. The knowledge acquired by representatives of local governments and local government auxiliary bodies during webinars will be used in future activities activating local communities, including topics related to ecology.
Summary of bilateral results
During the project, 3 study visits were carried out. (described in detail in activity no. 9 entitled Study visits - Slovenia, Norway, Poland) The first visit took place in Slovenia. The trip was organized on June 7-9, 2022 in cooperation with the Slovenian partner - EBM for representatives of CREO and SMP in order to learn about good practices and exchange experiences. The second visit took place in Norway. The trip was carried out on March 20-23, 2023 in cooperation with the Norwegian partner - Norsensus Mediaforum for representatives of CREO (2 people) in order to learn about good practices and exchange experiences. The last, project-closing study visit took place on June 19-22, 2023. We hosted representatives of partners from Norway and Slovenia in Poland. The culmination of the visit was the participation of partners in the project summary conference, which took place in Poznań on June 21. The workshops conducted by our guests enjoyed great interest. During his workshop, Jaka Kranjc showed the effectiveness of the ZERO WASTE approach in local governments in Slovenia and Western and Southern Europe. Vedat Sevincer, on the other hand, introduced the youth to the secrets of storytelling from the perspective of his Norwegian experiences. Each visit allowed for the exchange of various experiences, learning about good practices and strengthening international ties, which already at that moment resulted in further cooperation. The partners also created publications assumed in the project, which were translated and are available in 2 language versions: English and Polish.